OHRC to mark human rights day on December 10

Muscat: The Sultanate, represented by Oman Human Rights Commission (OHRC) celebrates along with the international community the World Human Rights Day, which falls on 10 December every year.

The Universal Human Rights Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948.

The Universal Human Rights Declaration is one of the key principles and schemes of the United Nations Organisation in the field of human rights.

The United Nations Organisation invites all UN member states, organisations concerned with human rights, the civil society institutions and individuals to celebrate the event. The UN institutions and organisations organise ceremonies and functions on the event, wherein the winners of the UN awards and prizes for human rights are announced.

The Universal Human Rights Declaration is an international document that consists of thirty articles representing the general human rights guaranteed for and applied to all the people, worldwide.

The Universal Human Rights Declaration includes a wide range of political, civil, economic, social and cultural rights and is used in preparation of national and basic laws, treaties, and regional and international codes and bills.

The Universal Human Rights Declaration is translated into more than four hundred languages, worldwide, and is used by organisations and commissions internationally recognised, for familiarising people with their rights and duties.

Oman Human Rights Commission has printed and dispersed the Universal Human Rights Declaration to the various civil society institutions and individuals as part of its belief in the contents of the declaration and the significant principles therein.

Oman Human Rights Commission enjoys a UN rating accredited by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) affiliated to the United Nations and is an active member in the activities and meetings of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, which boosts exercising its prerogatives at the national, regional and international level.

Oman Human Rights Commission is also a member in the Asia Pacific Forum, the Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions (ANNHRIs) and the Arab Permanent Committee on Human Rights of the Arab League.

As part of its commitment to its duties at the regional and international level, Oman Human Rights Commission participated, this year, in the various functions and meetings held via videoconferencing and was present during the activities of the Universal Periodic Review submitted by the Government of the Sultanate before the Human Rights Council in Geneva, at the beginning of 2021.

Oman Human Rights Commission has participated during the year in the regional and international meetings in the presence of representatives from the Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions (ANNHRIs), the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, the Human Rights Department of the League of Arab States (Arab League), the United Nations Development Programme and European Union (EU).

The meetings are aimed to support senior executives concerned with human rights at the said institutions, to enhance their knowledge in the field, to review the strategic plans and to exchange expertise and best practices in enhancement and protection of human rights and management of national human rights institutions.

Within the partnership and cooperation with the regional and international institutions concerned with human rights, the employees of Oman Human Rights Commission participated this year in a number of training sessions on the Paris Principles and the prerogatives of national human rights commissions among other issues.